Reggae Boyz Make it a Hat-Trick of Clean Sheets to Edge into Semi-Final Against the USA (Video)
Barnes bags only goal to sink Haiti in Gold Cup
Giles Barnes’ seventh-minute goal, drilled through the Haitian goalkeeper’s legs after latching onto a defensive error, was enough to secure Jamaica a 1-0 Gold Cup win at the M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore on Saturday.
And the slender triumph, the inaugural Gold Cup knockout victory between Caribbean opponents, sets up an intriguing semi-final showdown with co-hosts and defending champions USA in Atlanta on Wednesday.
After early pressure from Jamaica the breakthrough came as no real surprise. Adrian Mariappa beat forward Jean-Eudes Maurice to the ball, from just inside the edge of the area on the right flank, and neatly slid it into the jam-packed six-yard box.
Although veteran defender Frantz Bertin was first to the loose ball, he miscued it to set up Barnes who brilliantly turned and buried his shot straight through the legs of helpless Johny Placide from an acute angle.
Barnes said: “The coach had been telling me to shoot more. I looked up and didn’t see anyone in the box so just hit it hard and low.”
And Jamaica, who last conceded a goal in the opening half of their Group B opening match against Costa Rica, extended their shutout streak in the tournament to 323 minutes following a hat-trick of 1-0 victories over Canada, El Salvador and Haiti.
Head coach Winfried Schäfer beamed: “I told the players that the best defence wins tournaments.
“Everybody must fight for the ball and when we lose the ball then everybody is a defender!”
And at the other end it was music to Schäfer’s ears as Barnes, the Houston Dynamo hot-shot, became Jamaica’s first forward to score during their campaign and could kick-start the strikers proving deadly in front of goal.
With four of the Reggae Boyz’ seven MLS stars unavailable to tackle Haiti – Barnes’ club team-mate Jermaine Taylor out of the tournament because of injury, Portland Timbers defender Alvas Powell having walked out over lack of playing time plus one-match suspensions for FC Dallas midfielder Je-Vaughn Watson and Vancouver Whitecaps striker Darren Mattocks – there was a juggling act to complete.
Schäfer swiftly strengthened his squad on Friday evening by bringing in two U23 Olympic players, defender Sean McFarlane and midfielder Omar Holness, to take over from Powell and Taylor as the coach genuinely believes that his Boyz can continue their fine run.
And neither has it been a totally harmonious tournament for Haiti, manager Marc Collat dealt the bitter blow of two players walking out from his squad during the week.
The clash was always going to be fiercely fought with not much between sides who play in a similar vein.
Yet following Barnes’ early breakthrough, the Boyz simply sat back and were made to look ordinary as Haiti were more troublesome during the first 45 minutes.
Dangerous Duckens Nazon, who notched both of Haiti’s Gold Cup goals, put his 12th-minute effort wide and the Paris-born striker’s rasping drive was only denied by the upright midway through the opening half.
Jamaica skipper Rodolph Austin gave away the first corner of the clash on 13 minutes, Wilde-Donald Guerrier’s telling corner found the boot of James Marcelin who somehow only managed to direct his effort straight at solid shotstopper Ryan Thompson. And busy Thompson denied Guerrier’s 21st-minute shot before watching Nazon hit the post.
But Jamaica concentrated on trying to preserve their lead so only produced two goalscoring chances before the interval, Simon Dawkins’ flashing his effort wide of the target on the half-hour mark and Placide easily catching Garath McCleary’s shot.
And Placide breathed a sign of relief 11 minutes into the second-half after his poor goal-kick fell into the path of the lively Jobi McAnuff. But he made amends by parrying the close-range effort as far as Barnes, who should have bagged a second goal from the rebound rather than send the ball over the crossbar.
With the game getting scrappy, Lance Laing was thrown on by Schäfer to replace Joel Grant and within a minute of his arrival came perilously close to scoring. This injection of new legs and a natural hunger for goals was just the ticket for ailing Jamaica.
Suddenly the Boyz sprung to life and started to dominate play by pressing for a clincher with decent efforts from Austin, McAnuff, Barnes, Mariappa and Dawkins.
Haiti were stunned by the immediate impact of Laing so followed Schäfer’s tactics to bring on Pascal Millien and Kervens Belfort for Guerrier and Nazon respectively with 19 minutes remaining.
This double substitution paid dividends as they looked more complete and pushed forward in a desperate bid for an equaliser with a relentless string of attacks that often resulted in corners, which the height and physicality of the Boyz ably dealt with.
But Jamaica were kept on their toes and did well to see off the danger of Haiti’s stirring comeback efforts from Millien, Kevin La France, Belfort, Marcelin and Alexandre.
The Boyz made a rare foray toward the Haiti goalmouth, but this resulted in another wasted shot from Barnes as the tie got tense with only eight minutes remaining.
Haiti, who – like their opponents – rely on their stubborn and athletic rearguard, lacked the finishing touch in front of goal that cost the minnows of the tournament dearly to bravely bow out.
Belfort’s header glanced tantalising close to the target on the stroke of 90 minutes and two stoppage time corners from Pascal Millien came to nothing to send the Boyz into the last four.
Schäfer, who has every confidence in his Boyz competing in their ninth Gold Cup, added: “Not all of our players have the same level in experience, but they have the same level in fighting and the desire for winning.”
Whether the Boyz can weather the storm of the defending champions USA, whose star striker Clint Dempsey bagged a hat-trick in Saturday’s emphatic 6-0 success over Cuba and is the tournament’s leading scoring with six goals, remains to be seen.
Haiti match-winner Barnes said: “The US are solid at the back so it will be a tough test.
“But we are confident that we’re more than capable of coming away from Wednesday’s match with a positive.”
For the Boyz, who have previously shocked the US, they will revel in the danger of causing an upset but Wednesday will see whether it is the match was a challenge or just a mission impossible.
JAMAICA: Thompson; Lawrence, Hector, Morgan, Mariappa; Grant (Laing, 54), McAnuff, Austin, McCleary; Barnes (Clennon, 90), Dawkins (Humphrey, 87) Subs: Miller, Blake, McFarlane, Phillips, Ottey, Seaton
HAITI: Placide; Jaggy, Bertin, Jerome, Alcenat; Alexandre (Norde, 84), Lafrance, Marcelin, Guerrier (Millien, 71); Nazon (Belfort, 71), Maurice Subs: Elusma, Ceus, Goreux, Aveska, Jean Jacques, Jean-Baptiste, Thuriere, Monuma Constant
GOLD CUP KNOCKOUT FIXTURES
July 18: USA 6 Cuba 0
July 18: Jamaica 1 Haiti 0
July 19: Trinidad & Tobago v Panama (MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, 4.30pm ko local time)
July 19: Costa Rica v Mexico (MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, 7.30pm ko local time)
July 22: USA v Jamaica (Georgia Dome, Atlanta, 6pm ko local time)
July 23: Semi-final (Georgia Dome, Atlanta, 9pm ko local time)
July 25: 3rd/4th Play-off (PPL Park, Chester, 4pm ko local time)
July 27: Final (Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, 7.30pm ko local time)